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Kansas, State House, District 85

Kansas House of Representatives District 85
Current incumbentMichael Capps Republican Party

Kansas' eighty-fifth state house district is represented by Republican Representative Michael Capps.

Kansas state representatives represent an average of 22,825 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 21,507 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Kansas House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Kansas legislators assume office the second Monday of January after their election.

Qualifications

Section 4 of Article 2 of the Kansas Constitution states, "During the time that any person is a candidate for nomination or election to the legislature and during the term of each legislator, such candidate or legislator shall be and remain a qualified elector who resides in his or her district."

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$88.66/day$144/day

Pension

As of 2011, when pensions are calculated for Kansas legislators, their normal annual salary is inflated by nearly $78,000. This is composed of $32,982, which comes from multiplying their daily salary by 372 (the number of days they would work if in session every day and if every month had 31 days), $45,756 from adding in their daily per diem (also based on 372 days) and $7,083 from expense payments. According to former state Senator Steve Morris, this is intended as compensation because of low legislative salaries which are seen as difficult to raise.

Vacancies

The Governor is responsible for filling all vacancies in the house.

The political party committee that last held the vacant seat must call for a convention within 21 days of the vacancy. The convention is designed to select the Governor's appointee and involves all the committeemen and committeewomen that represent the vacant house district.

The committeemen and committeewomen present for voting must approve a replacement on a simple majority vote. Once the vote has been conducted, the party committee must send the paperwork certifying the selection to the Governor within 24 hours or the next business day. The Governor has seven days after receiving the paperwork to act on the appointment.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Kansas House of Representatives will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for August 4, 2020. The filing deadline is June 1, 2020.

2018

General election
General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 85

Incumbent Michael Capps (R) defeated Monica Marks (D) in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 85 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Michael Capps (R)
54.0
5,659

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Monica Marks (D)
46.0
4,824

Total votes: 10,483
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 85

Monica Marks advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 85 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Monica Marks (D)
100
1,245

Total votes: 1,245
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 85

Incumbent Michael Capps advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 85 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Michael Capps (R)
100
2,759

Total votes: 2,759

2016

Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives were held in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.

Incumbent Chuck Weber defeated Patty Beamer in the Kansas House of Representatives District 85 general election.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 85 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Chuck Weber Incumbent 61.46% 7,057
Democratic Patty Beamer 38.54% 4,426
Total Votes 11,483
Source: Kansas Secretary of State

Patty Beamer ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 85 Democratic primary.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 85 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Patty Beamer (unopposed)

Incumbent Chuck Weber ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 85 Republican primary.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 85 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Chuck Weber Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Patrick Thorpe was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Steven Brunk was unopposed in the Republican primary. Brunk defeated Thorpe in the general election.

Kansas House of Representatives District 85, General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSteven Brunk Incumbent 66% 5,631
Democratic Patrick Thorpe 34% 2,905
Total Votes 8,536

2012

Elections for the office of Kansas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on August 7, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 11, 2012. Incumbent Steven Brunk (R) defeated Barry D. Stanley (D) in the general election and was unopposed in the Republican primary. Stanley was defeated by Republican Rebecca Armstrong in the August 7 Democratic primary, but as Armstrong was acting as a placeholder and did not intend to defeat Stanley, she withdrew.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 85, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSteven Brunk Incumbent 67.2% 6,806
Democratic Barry Stanley 32.8% 3,316
Total Votes 10,122

Kansas House of Representatives, District 85 Democratic Primary, 2012

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Kansas House of Representatives District 85 raised a total of $320,404. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $16,020 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Kansas House of Representatives District 85

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $29,900 2 $14,950
2014 $38,513 2 $19,257
2012 $40,462 3 $13,487
2010 $22,673 1 $22,673
2008 $50,978 2 $25,489
2006 $40,510 3 $13,503
2004 $39,411 2 $19,706
2002 $24,516 3 $8,172
2000 $33,441 2 $16,721
Total $320,404 20 $16,020